GRM Exclusive Reveal: Exocet Spec-A

One of our customers is making extensive use of his Atlanta Motorsports Park membership.

Video link: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=617376338334277

That car's got some oomph! Turbocharged?

One thing that a lot of people don't appreciate enough is the importance of balance and forgiveness. For us "duffer" drivers, we're often better off in a well-balanced car like an Exocet than in an Atom or similar middie because we can push it closer to the edge than we can a more spin-happy vehicle. Sure the hot shots can get the most out of a car with more of a rearward bias, but when I see a car being driven way below it's capability at the track, odds are that it's a rearie or a middie.

Exactly, sir. That whole lightweight front-engine thing makes the car very accessible and friendly.

It is indeed turbo'd. Somewhere around 210-220whp (conservative tune and boost).

The second half of that video is STUPENDOUS! INSANE! Please keep up the business so I can buy one of these in 2 years!

i know ive seen, but didnt write down what spring rates are you recomending? Im running Ground Control coil overs with Tokiko 5 way adjustables. I have eibach spring i believe 6" tall in front 7" in rear.

OK - THAT was an AMAZING video. It is easy to get too hung up on numbers like Horsepower and so on, it is hard to remember that it does not take gobs of it to make a remarkable machine.

Now, just get your better looking body work out there so we can see that! I honestly believe that with my 15k budget and mediocre hot rodding skills, I could actually pull off a viable street machine that can be effective at track day and a real blast to drive any other time.

The cars that see California freight centers have been treated a little roughly, so we took some extra precautions in the form of pool noodles.

The shrink-wrap is new for all cars.

Watch out for extras that might be inside like 18 boxes of 1 dozen set of dinner knives. UPS Freight keeps on giving!

In reply to Warren v: Is that the heat shrink for boats stuff?

In reply to jjkarns:

BONUS!!

MrJoshua wrote: In reply to Warren v: Is that the heat shrink for boats stuff?

Yessir. I've been wanting to do it for a year. You can tell which one we did first; the Sport looks quite sexy under wraps.

One of my FSAE buddies ordered a kit, I really like his powder blue! Gulf livery, so orange bodywork.

In reply to Warren v: WOW! That powder blue REALLY pops! Makes me think I should be considering a bolder color scheme.

One of our California customers got his car on the road in a claimed 51 hours of work! Check out his first drive: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9B1zvnyzNM

Here's his build thread: http://www.mevowners.proboards.com/thread/4507/steadfasts-california-exocet?page=7

Edit: added his timesheet.

Are the stand-offs for the fuel tank factory or a modificaton for this application?

I thought the tank nestled in the sub- frame.

In reply to Warren v:

Does that muffler really work that way? Every muffler I've seen like that either had two inlets or two outlets on one side, not an inlet and outlet.

NOHOME wrote: Are the stand-offs for the fuel tank factory or a modificaton for this application? I thought the tank nestled in the sub-frame.

It does a little. Kinda. It's shaped oddly on the bottom.

bravenrace wrote: In reply to Warren v: Does that muffler really work that way? Every muffler I've seen like that either had two inlets or two outlets on one side, not an inlet and outlet.

Magnaflow does just about every configuration possible: http://www.magnaflow.com/02product/shopdisplayproducts_universal.asp?page=4

It's a 3rd and 4th gen F-body style muffler, they had one inlet and dual exhaust for the Z28, Formula and Trans-Am's.

In reply to Warren v: This is a little misleading if one is looking for a street legal kitcar in California. Although the effort is impressive, it is not even half way to a street legal vehicle (you gotta have fenders, windshield, many many lights..).

In reply to olpro: Agreed that it is far from CA street legal, I'm still waiting on the body portion from Exomotive. Once in house I should be able to get the bodywork and lights on in a weekend (most likely a long weekend). The windshield is a different story. I've heard rumors on the factory five forums that they are cracking down on lexan windshields not passing. I think I'll try out the lexan first as it is an easy solution. If they fail me I'll have to figure out plan b. I have my first visit to the DMV setup for April 3rd.

The DMV won't check the windshield. That is up to the BAR, at the last stage. They will insist on "safety glazing" what ever that is. If they are rigorous, it will boil down to laminated safety glass, marked RS-1, DOT approved - nothing else meets this definition. If you have flat glass, go with Sanders in Washington state, just provide them a good pattern http://www.sandersreproglass.com/ They are great, with a waterjet cut process that is much more reliable, cheap (under $200 for mine, including shipping) and fast. AND, the BAR will pass it! Oh by the way, you will have to have TWO wipers, a bit more money than the windshield but here is a good option http://www.pacificwesterndesign.com/Mighty/

In reply to olpro: Are you the guy who built the superlite down in San Diego? While I will likely use the guy in WA, I want to try the lexan first. I have a few people I know here in the bay area that have had success recently (past 6 months) using lexan for their windshields for the SB100 process. It seems as though everything is very grey in this process.

Over the past couple weeks, I've had variants of the following discussion several time with different people:

Friend: so how's that exo-atom-thing coming along?

Me: Still don't have it. Still no news. Emailed the company (info@exomotive) multiple times, left multiple voicemails, no sign of life outside of the engineer guy being very active on internet forums.

Friend: oh... didn't you give them a deposit months ago?

Me: yeah... 2 grand.

The Friend then gives me that "you're such a moron, you fell for a scam, your $ is gone" look.

I'm not loving that feeling...

Yeah, I'm still waiting in the invoice for the rest of the costs. Last I heard I was supposed to have that like 6 weeks ago and I was supposed to get a call to arrange pickup at the end of March. But I did order at the end of the year along with plenty of other people an I'm sure that they at a bit overwhelmed.

I'm just ready to swap the ls from my truck into an Exocet and get the turbos on for the ultimate death machine.

Hey guys, sorry about the lack of communication (or communication expectations). There were a ton of orders at the end of December (months of production sold in days). We're just now getting to the beginning of those cars.

I'll have Kevin check his email account for any hanging chads. He's currently out swapping frames with the powder coaters.

I hope no one genuinely considers us a scam. We're just a small group of passionate enthusiasts that got many times the orders we expected, and in the last 6 months we've doubled our staff and moved to a shop 6x bigger than our first one. It takes time to grow a business, especially when everyone involved refuses to compromise quality. Please forgive our growing pains.

Warren v wrote: Hey guys, sorry about the lack of communication (or communication expectations)... It takes time to grow a business, especially when everyone involved refuses to compromise quality. Please forgive our growing pains.

FWIW Warren - I just wrapped up a massive project here at work where we replaced the PCs of 2,300 staff members. We ran into shipping delays, software incompatibility, people shipped the wrong PC, you name it. But you know what pissed people off the most? Lack of communication. People were willing to be patient as long as they knew that their issue was on our radar and we were working on it--but if they weren't getting speedy responses to their inquiries, things would hit the fan fast. We ended up bringing another team member just to manage the communications load, and it made all the difference.

Yes, you're in the business of making and selling cars--but I would argue that making client communications a top priority will do more to sustain the company's bottom line than clean welds and shipping on time.